Dr. Virginia Pressler, executive vice president and chief strategic officer of Hawai‘i Pacific Health, will address graduates at UH Mānoa’s Fall 2009 Commencement ceremony. The program will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009, at the Stan Sheriff Center. The student procession will begin at 8:30 a.m.

More than 1,600 students are eligible to receive degrees and certificates to conclude the Fall academic term. Just over 1,090 students will receive bachelor degrees, and more than 566 will receive master’s and doctorate degrees, and post-baccalaureate certificates in secondary education.

Dr. Pressler is the holder of three diplomas (MBA, MS, and MD) from UH Mānoa. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2009 Hall of Honor Award from Shidler College of Business, American Cancer Society, Planned Parenthood, Hawai‘i Medical Association, Healthcare Association of Hawai‘i, YWCA and others.

Regents’ Scholar graduates are Henry Cheng, Sara Fares, Katherine Ishida, Kayla Sakimoto and Aileen Tanaka. The Board of Regents established the Regents’ and Presidential Scholarships in 1987 as the University’s first full scholarships based solely on academic excellence, and reserved for Hawai’i‘s best high school and community college students.

The Regents’ Medal of Distinction will be awarded to the late William Kwai Fong Yap, who is known as the founder of UH due to his efforts to elevate it from a college to the university level. A respected education advocate, businessperson and civic leader, his contributions to Mānoa continue through his family.

Logistics:

Doors to the Stan Sheriff Center will open at 7:45 a.m. The event is free and open to the public. No tickets are issued, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Balloons and strollers are not allowed inside the Stan Sheriff Center.

Free parking will be available in the lower campus parking structure, which will open at 6 a.m.

Friends and family members may greet graduates following the ceremony on the football practice field (A-L), the soccer practice field (M-T), and at the softball stadium (U-Z). Authorized lei vendors will be located nearby.

There will be a live Webcast of the ceremony. For more information on the Webcast, and other details about the commencement ceremony, visit manoa.hawaii.edu/commencement.